Well, another month of hot weather has gone by. We have now set records for the hottest June and the hottest July. We've had very little rain and there doesn't seem to be any in the near future. We actually do usually have nice weather in August and September, but nothing like this. My mom keeps saying "It feels like California".

Jennie has been loving it. She will lay outside in the sun on the walkway in 90 degree weather. The only things she doesn't like is the crispy grass and HOT pavement. Since she is definitely NOT a morning puppy, we've been taking our walk in the evening as soon as the pavement is shaded and the temp is below 75. Most days we meet up with my neighbor and her Golden-Doodle Gracie. The two girls walk so much better together than either one does alone!

Here's a couple shots of Jennie in the front yard. She is 15 months old now and has reached her full size at just under 22 pounds. I think she looks good, but then I'm partial.

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_________________Susan

Mom to Jennie, born 4/24/2014, Gotcha Day 6/20/2014Gone, but not forgotten: Honey, Punkin, Lady, Dusty and Chief

"If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." Will Rogers

How tall is Jennie? She looks beautiful. Glad you've been enjoying some warmer weather. In NC, it's been in the 90s almost everyday. A bit much. Cici loves to go out on the deck and sun bathe. That's about 5-10 mins. And then she's gets to a point where she is looking crazed and rushes toward the door to be let in....LOL like she saying " oh that's enough of THAT...what was I thinking???"

One second, she is lying there all blissful and then she'll get up with a start It's pretty hilarious.

It's now our night walks that are the longest. Days are hot and muggy and we can't go far before it's too much for her.

It's hard to keep her still enough to measure her, but I think she is close to 15 inches at the shoulder. I know she is taller than any of the other Cocker Spaniel's that I've met. She has super long legs... and is now able to reach the dining table with her front paws. I have to be very careful to keep yummy things (like paper) away from the edge of the table.

I know she is taller than acceptable per the breed standard, but I had her spayed early (about 5 months) and I understand that this can result in a dog being taller than they would have been otherwise. She is about an inch taller than her mom.

Of course, I think she is perfect just as she is!

_________________Susan

Mom to Jennie, born 4/24/2014, Gotcha Day 6/20/2014Gone, but not forgotten: Honey, Punkin, Lady, Dusty and Chief

"If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." Will Rogers

She does look tall - that's why I asked! Cici is tall, too. About the same height. She's just got a little more waddle in the belly we are working on. Her bones are large and she weighs 28 pounds. I think she would probably be perfect at 27. Big girls!

It's hard to keep her still enough to measure her, but I think she is close to 15 inches at the shoulder. I know she is taller than any of the other Cocker Spaniel's that I've met. She has super long legs... and is now able to reach the dining table with her front paws. I have to be very careful to keep yummy things (like paper) away from the edge of the table.

Of course, I think she is perfect just as she is!

I have to laugh that she can reach the dining table with her paws. Snickie is small at 13 inches tall, and I for one still can't figure out how five years ago she reached a brownie that I had on the middle of the dining table in a plastic container. She got the container off the table and proceeded to open it and ate the brownie! Also at around the same time I left a squeeze bottle of mustard at the edge of the counter and she took that down and proceeded to chew on it like a toy, punctured it of course, and mustard all over the place Never under estimate what these dogs are capable of doing.

Snickie must be a magician... maybe she levitated the mustard off the counter! Thank goodness Jennie can't reach there (yet) or I would be in soooo much trouble!

My cousin's Cocker, Gracie, gets up on the dining room chairs (even if pushed in all the way) and then she can somehow make her way from there to the table top. She grabs what she wants and then scoots back down the way she came! I'm so worried that she will demonstrate this one day when they come to visit. I definitely don't need Jennie learning this!

Speaking of Gracie... I now know 4 dogs named Gracie and 3 of them live within 2 blocks of me! One is a 4 year old tri-color Cocker (mostly black and white with one small brown patch) whose full name is Amazing Grace. The other two near me are a large white Golden-doodle and a small tan Chihuahua. The fourth is my cousin's little black Cocker, who was named for Gracie Allen because she is such a little goof. I knew Gracie was a popular name for dogs but...

_________________Susan

Mom to Jennie, born 4/24/2014, Gotcha Day 6/20/2014Gone, but not forgotten: Honey, Punkin, Lady, Dusty and Chief

"If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." Will Rogers

Actually I think she got the brownie by doing what your cousin's dog did, I had seen her doing that with the outdoor furniture. She grew up with cats so she learned by watching what they did,half the time I think she thought she was a cat.

I think I may have mentioned before that my love of Cockers started with my aunt. She has had several pairs of Cockers or Cockapoo's in my lifetime... Tuffy and Taffy, Coco and Jet, Muffy and Buffy, and maybe more that I am forgetting. She currently has just one. Daisy is a 3-4 year old buff "Canadian" Cocker, which means her tail is not docked. My aunt is my mom's older sister and my mom's twin has a daughter who is on her third Cocker, a 7 year old named Gracie. Gracie gets groomed by Jennie's breeder, so she comes for a visit about every 6 weeks and we've been to her house for the holidays. But neither Gracie nor Jennie had met Daisy, so my cousin arranged a play date at a waterfront park in my hometown and near where my aunt currently lives. Everyone had a great time and all three girls got along beautifully. Many people stopped by to watch them play together and asked if they could pet them. Here are a couple of photos of our beautiful girls... great ambassadors for their breed!

The first is the three girls coming back from a walk along the beach... Daisy, Jennie and Gracie

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This second is my cousin's daughters with their Cocker sister and cousins.

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And this is Jennie thinking about jumping off the rocks and into Bellingham Bay! I'm glad she changed her mind and just waded in the water. It was a long drive home and she was cranky about getting rinsed off when we got there. But she had a great time! It was her first experience with water that was 1. COLD 2. Moving and 3. Salted.

I can't believe it has been this long since I've posted to this topic but I am still really busy getting my mom's house ready to sell. Jennie is now used to going to 'Grandma's house' five days a week where mama will be very boring and 'working' all the time. She loves the 2 days we spend at home instead. I can almost hear her say "really?" when I ask if she is ready to go.

We have a play date with her BFF Gracie one day each week and they have a great time. Today I took several pictures that looked good on my cell phone and then were totally out-of-focus due to movement when I got home. This one does show how well they get along... poor Nancy is almost squeezed out of her chair!

I think I'm the lucky one to have her. She is the very definition of a "merry" cocker. She has never met a person or dog that she doesn't like and she is trying hard to win over the neighbor's cat. I tell people her full name is Little Jennie Wigglebutt, because her tail is never still.

Except for trimming her nails (which PetSmart does for me), I have been learning to do her grooming myself. After months of sporting what I call the "chunky monkey" cut, I decided to take her short. It hit 89 in Seattle on Tuesday, which is very unusual for April. So it was time to give her a summer cut. I used a Wahl Bravura with the 1/4" comb. I think it turned out pretty well. I usually 'perfect' the cut over about 3 sessions, as there are always a ton of little pokie-out areas on the first try. But this photo is after the initial cut, so I think I'm improving! I do see some stray hairs underneath her tail and I can't figure out how to make the back legs more "columny". But I think she looks pretty cute.

Once again I have let too much time go by between posts! I check the forum every morning, but many times it's just a quick peek before heading off for my day's work.

My brother and I finally finished the remodelling we have been doing to my mother's home last weekend and today I met with a realtor and a photographer to get ready for the crazy Washington Real Estate market. The house will be listed this Friday. Only took me 5 months to get it ready... can you believe it? My mom lived there since 1979, so there was a lot of stuff to go through, a lot of cleaning and painting to do and three bathrooms in dire need of updating. I never expected it to take this long.

Jennie is now so used to the daily trip in to Grandma's house that she meets me at the door as soon as she sees me with the bag that I put her food in. On the rare day we don't go in, she watches me like a hawk as if she suspects I am trying to sneak off without her!

As if I didn't have enough on my plate, I decided to start looking for a new home a bit further north of my present location. I was thinking I would get to know the market and learn how much I could expect to pay for my next home and then I would be ready to look seriously after mom's house sold. Great plan, right? Except that I found my dream home July 6th, made an offer that was accepted the next morning and I will be moving the first week of September.

The house is just perfect for me and the neighborhood is going to be great for walking Jennie. Sidewalks everywhere and a park nearby. And the train tracks are more than 4 miles away, so hopefully Jennie's days of howling at the train will be coming to an end. My only real concern is that she will miss the fenced front yard that we have in our current home. She spends more than half her outdoor time there, watching the neighbors and the cars that go by. I will be able to give her a seat by a window, but the new house has a very small front yard and it isn't fenced. The back yard is fully fenced and backs to a greenbelt, so she will be able to watch lots of birds and squirrels. I'm planning to ask the HOA if I can put a gate at the front of my small porch so she can sit out there, but if they say no, it will be back yard only for my Jennie.

I've been cutting back on her front yard time here so she gets used to the idea that the front yard isn't always available. Any suggestions for what else I can do to make the transition easier for her?

_________________Susan

Mom to Jennie, born 4/24/2014, Gotcha Day 6/20/2014Gone, but not forgotten: Honey, Punkin, Lady, Dusty and Chief

"If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." Will Rogers

What a busy year you've had! I don't have any tips, but wish you the best with your move. I think you are on the right track and i am sure Jennie will enjoy her new home and back yard. At least she has a yard! She may not care as much as you think as long as she has some outdoor space whether it's the front or back. If you have some lead time (or while you're moving in), perhaps you can take her there for visits so she gets used to the house and hew new yard. By the time you're fully moved in, it won't be as sudden a change.

Jennie and I are happily settled in Mount Vernon, WA. The move was much easier for her than I ever imagined. She spent the actual moving day with my friend Nancy and her black and white cocker, Gracie. They played hard for about 20 minutes and then Nancy tells me they slept the rest of the day!

The movers finished about 3:00 and Jennie and I were at the new house by 5:00. She explored every room right away and then jumped up into her old car booster seat and looked out the front window. After that she settled in for a nap on the couch in the den and has been completely at home ever since. She is enjoying getting to know our new neighborhood and meeting some of the neighbors.

There have been a few unexpected advantages to the move... her goopy eyes have been much better in the new home. I still clean them every morning, but there is much less to clean now. And the neighborhood is located on the side of a hill, so we get to make elevation changes as we walk. Our old neighborhood was completely flat. So our walks have more cardio benefit than before. And my legs are clearly telling me that the muscles are working harder than ever! Jennie has even sat down a few times and gave me a look that said "I need a rest".

I think she misses the front yard a bit, but she can see out two front windows. She loves the new back yard and is getting to know the little terrier that lives next door. All in all, she is still the same happy little girl that she has always been.

_________________Susan

Mom to Jennie, born 4/24/2014, Gotcha Day 6/20/2014Gone, but not forgotten: Honey, Punkin, Lady, Dusty and Chief

"If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." Will Rogers

I love the little buffs too. My aunt had two when I was a child...brother and sister, Tuffy and Taffy.

My cousin brought her little black girl Gracie down from Anacortes today and we took her and Jennie to my groomer. Here they are playing in my yard after their spa day... I had a hard time getting a shot with both of them still!

Gracie is a rescue, about 4 years old. Jennie just turned 6 month old on the 24th so our little ones are about the same age. Jennie's mom and dad were both on the small side, so I won't be surprised if she is too. Today the groomer showed us a little 3 month old black and tan boy who is only about 4 pounds. He is going to be super small. But he sure is cute! I may get tempted to add another one at some point, but I think I'll wait until Jennie is all grown up.

I wasn't crazy about the way her forehead was cut before... it looked a bit schnauzery to me... I think she looks much better cut smooth. Now I can see her little white kissie spot much better. Gracie's forehead is cut the old way.

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And here is Jennie sound asleep after Gracie went home. She slept for 2 hours! I think she had a good time chasing Gracie around. I'm not sure Gracie enjoyed it as much!

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After her nap she ate a good dinner and now she's down for the count again.

that is a good gromer from where I'm sat, there's not many who can do Cocker spaniel s.

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